Alpha, perhaps you missed the part of his race speech where he said he could no more disown his grandmother than Rev. Wright. He may not have literally denounced her. He just implied that poor granny was the same as a racist demagogue.

So you agree with alpha then. I think alpha should read more carefully -- Ann A. did not say he denounced her.

I think it was a somewhat cheap shot on our hostess' part. She might also have said the grandmother he was big enough not to mug or the the grandmother he was big enough not to push down the flight of stairs while giggling.

As far as the Rev Wright, it's telling that so many white conservatives pass judgment on a guy after seeing less than 60 seconds worth of clips.

Is there a reason the race of his critics matters? That would seem to imply that white criticism of Wright is automatically suspect, but I know that can't be true because that would itself be a racist comment.

Of course, there are a number of blacks who've criticized Wright, but they can similarly be dismissed because they must be race traitors.

And as far as content, it's easy enough to read up on Wright's and Trinity's black liberation theology which blames whites for just about every imaginable evil and actively encourages race hatred and paranoia. Or you could look at Wright's praise of Farrakhan. Or his giving a platform to Hamas terrorists. Or his telling his congregation that whites invented AIDS to kill people of color.

But why do that when it's easier to blame it on a vast, right-wing white conspiracy?

They forgot to mention the "how" in the video. Michelle Obama stated yesterday that some will need to make people "give up a piece of their pie so that someone else can have more." I wonder who will be giving up and who will be getting more?

As far as the Rev Wright, it's telling that so many white conservatives pass judgment on a guy after seeing less than 60 seconds worth of clips.

Wait. There is a new one out. Apparently while debating Black Panther Bobby Rush in 2000, Obama stated "I don't think there are a lot of ideological differences between us." So not only does Obama not reject Black Panthers, he says their views are the same as his views. Wait, I thought Obama rejected the views of Rev. Wright?

I'm even willing to share some of my pie with people who don't demand that I give it to them and who dont' consider it their right to take the pie that I have worked hard to make. I'll even make tea.

Oh yeah. Speaking as "typical white woman" to a non-typical black woman, Michelle and her husband can just keep their grubby paws off of my money, not to mention my pies. I don't recall inviting either of them into my home.

My problem must be that I read the Mainstream Media. Here's what the dread MSM reports that Michelle said:

Most Americans, she said, don't want much.

"They don't want the whole pie," she told the women. "There are some who do, but most Americans feel blessed just being able to thrive a little bit. But that is becoming even more out of reach."

No mention of pie redistribution. At all. But for the benefit of pie enthusiasts, here's MO's recipe for apple cobbler from Yankee Magazine:

Michelle Obama's Apple Cobbler

"I've been making this cobbler for a long time, so I usually just eyeball how much needs to go in. People might want more or less sugar, but this is how our family and friends like it. This recipe makes one cobbler, which is like a double pie."Filling:

Mix these ingredients together in a bowl and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight so the spice goes all the way through the apples.Crust:

* 3 sheets refrigerated pie crust * 1 stick of butter

Preheat oven at 325 degrees. Butter and flour the bottom of a large baking dish. Roll out three pie crusts real thin -- as thin as possible. Layer the bottom of the pan with 1-1/2 of the pie crusts and prick a few holes in it. Pour the apples with the liquid into the pie pan. Dot 3/4 of a stick of butter around the apples. Use the final 1-1/2 pie crusts to cover the apple mixture entirely (let the pie crust overlap the pan).

Pinch the edges of the dough around the sides of the pan so the mixture is completely covered.

Melt final 1/4 stick of butter and brush all over top of crust.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees. Bake at 300 for up to 3 hours -- that's what makes the crust flakey, like Barack likes it. Put the cobbler in the oven and go for a walk, go to the store, or do whatever you have to do around the house. Start looking at the cobbler after two and a half hours so it doesn't burn.

Apple crisp is awesome. We don't do many fruit pies -- coconut cream, chocolate silk, pecan (but not too sweet). My wife makes a coconut pound cake that is to die for. Apollo would have given up ambrosia for this.

Speaking off the cuff is always dangerous for politicians. Too much risk of saying what you really believe.

As for Obama's speaking of Rev. Wright as holding a similar place in his life as his own grandmother, to those who hate Rev. Wright, of course it sounds like Obama was calling his grandmother a loathsome, racist, anti-Semitic, hate-mongering secret Muslim. To those who think Rev. Wright has done both good and bad and is an imperfect human being who should receive both correction and compassion, it sounded like Obama was saying his grandmother also was an imperfect human being.